"Since you can make a fully metal motorcycle from wood and stone, why can't you turn these wild fruits into edible ones like apples? Or do you just like this sour, astringent taste?"
Mobius sat in the sidecar seat, looking at Xin Yu, who was leaning nearby. He held a handful of wild fruits picked from the vicinity, popping one into his mouth from time to time. Mobius recognized those wild fruits; several were extremely sour and astringent.
"Hmm... I just gave it a try, but it still doesn't work."
Xin Yu calmly ate the wild fruits in his hand. He knew, of course, that these might be very bitter or sour, but he just wanted to try. The result was still the same – he couldn't taste anything at all. Although he had surpassed humans in many aspects, why, of all things, did he still lack a sense of taste?
Xin Yu actually really wanted to taste delicious food. Though his memories were fragmented and blurry, the faint impressions of the flavors of a few deeply remembered home-cooked dishes still lingered, making him yearn to savor them again. Unfortunately, he couldn't taste anything he ate now.
Oh, wait... more accurately, besides the taste of blood, he couldn't taste anything else.
"Also, reconstructing wood and stone – although I don't know the principle behind it, I can do it using that inexplicable energy inside me. But turning one type of fruit into another, I can't do that."
"You can't transform one fruit into another? Does that mean manipulating things related to biological cells is particularly difficult?"
"I don't know. But the problem now is, although we left quite freely, you didn't bring your household registration documents, and I'm an unregistered person. Under these circumstances, life seems like it would be very troublesome in modern society."
"Isn't that simple? Don't you have superpowers? Can't you just find a way to turn something like cloth strips into money? With a large amount of money, someone will naturally solve these problems for us. Did you really not think of such a simple method?"
"...Counterfeiting money is illegal."
"Ha! You're not even human anymore, why bother following human laws?"
"You can't put it that way. My body might not be human anymore, but my heart is still human. Besides, I actually have a more efficient method."
Xin Yu silently crouched down. Before Mobius's stunned expression, he grabbed a stone. Then, bit by bit, the stone in Xin Yu's hand took on a golden hue, finally transforming completely into a small piece of gold.
"This... you can do this too?"
"Mm, this method of mine should be different from the kind of matter reorganization you mentioned. I feel like it's a more profound and mysterious method... Forget it, you better not try to study it. I cultivated this, and even I don't understand what the heck it is anymore."
Xin Yu glanced inward at the dark purple substance flowing along with his blood within his body. His expression was very strange; he himself didn't know what on earth he had cultivated.
"...Even if you won't let me study your body, at least let me study this amazing ability of yours! I'm willing to pay any price!"
"When you become a leading expert in the field, then talk to me. You're far too early now. You haven't even fully grasped the basics, and you're already thinking of pioneering unknown paths. Be careful not to slip and fall into an abyss you can't climb out of."
"Then if I reach the forefront of this world, will you agree?"
"We'll talk about it then."
Mobius watched Xin Yu get back onto the motorcycle seat and start it. She looked at this mysterious person she had encountered.
He claimed he was no longer human, possessed incredible abilities like turning stone into gold—akin to matter conversion—and could heal her father's illness with a wave of his hand.
Young Mobius once didn't believe in miracles. She thought they were just tiny bits of luck, a matter of unreproducible probability.
But then, this so-called miracle had seemingly descended from the heavens, appearing right before her very eyes. He had even sought her out.
Mobius had some understanding of emotions between people. She knew her father's love for her mother, and that his hatred for her stemmed from that same love. She also remembered her mother's love for her; her abnormal self, even now, still remembered the name her mother gave her at birth.
That name was her mother's love for her.
Mobius felt a budding affection for this miracle that had fallen from the sky. She rationally analyzed this affection: it was gratitude towards the one who saved her, curiosity about something new, and yearning for the path ahead.
He was like a locked book. If she could just find a way to unlock all those locks, truly decipher the knowledge inside, she would surely be able to realize that dream.
To let humans conquer death.
"Xin Yu, will you stay with me?"
"At least until I feel you can live independently, I won't leave you. Likewise, when I think you're mature enough, capable enough to face life's storms, I will also leave."
"...Okay."
Mobius didn't speak anymore, just sat there silently. She lowered her head, closed her eyes, as if sleeping.
Xin Yu silently slowed the motorcycle. When they encountered bumps or potholes on the small road, the vehicle would even briefly levitate a short distance, ensuring the ride was extremely smooth.
Before nightfall, the two finally reached the city nearest to the small town. Using the gold, Xin Yu quickly obtained a large sum of money. With the help of some "kindhearted people," he successfully found the personnel who handle document processing.
After arranging for replacement documents for himself and Mobius, it was already 9 PM. The two had a simple dinner at a restaurant and checked into a hotel.
Lying on her bed, Mobius tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Perhaps it was because the earlier ride on the sidecar motorcycle had been inexplicably too smooth, so much so that she, who had initially been pretending to sleep, had quickly fallen genuinely asleep. This now resulted in her being unable to sleep at night.
Mobius turned over and looked at Xin Yu, lying on the other bed, who had fallen asleep at some unknown point.
She thought for a moment, and a smile full of bewitching charm suddenly appeared on her face. Even at her current age, she already displayed astonishing allure.
Mobius silently got off her own bed. Looking at the sleeping Xin Yu, she quietly slipped into his quilt.
Leaning against Xin Yu's chest, it was very warm. A warmth she had never felt before.
Right after Mobius was born, although her father was grief-stricken and didn't treat her kindly, he still fulfilled his duties as a father. It wasn't until he contracted that strange illness, and as it grew progressively worse later on, that he started either beating or cursing her.
It was also after that point that Mobius had never been held by anyone again. She was a genius, true, a monster who had gained self-awareness and learned language while still in her mother's womb.
But she was currently only 9 years old.
Ultimately, she was still just a child.
Mobius curled up entirely in Xin Yu's embrace, feeling that warmth she hadn't experienced in such a long, long time. Listening to the heartbeat within Xin Yu's chest, she closed her eyes. Filled with a feeling called peace of mind, she quickly fell asleep.
Mobius spent the warmest night she had experienced since birth.